Vietnamese Trotskyism
Encyclopedia
In the history of twentieth-century communism, Vietnam
was one of the few countries where Trotskyism
had a large movement. Its leaders and most of its members were exterminated by the Communist Party of Vietnam
beginning in September 1945.
ese Trotskyists were involved in the earliest efforts to build a revolutionary movement in Indochina
. During the 1930s in Saigon the Vietnamese Trotskyists were a strong rival movement to the Indochinese Communist Party
(ICP), but there was cooperation among the ICP and Trotskyists, perhaps unique in the world, according to Robert J. Alexander. In 1939, after the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Communist organisations were banned in France
and Indochina
. Authorities arrested hundreds of members of the ICP and Trotskyist organizations.
. The two Trotskyist parties, La Lutte (French for "Struggle") and the International Communist League
(led by Ho Huu Tuong), regrouped in 1945 and proceeded to rebuild their forces and prepare for the approaching conflict with the British occupation forces and the French colonial forces.
emerged from prison in poor health but still the most popular leader of the worker's movement in the South and the best known Trotskyist in Vietnam. Returning to Saigon from a consultation with the new Vietminh Government in Hanoi, he was assassinated by Vietminh adherents near Quang Ngai in September 1945.
The methodical assassination of Trotskyists in Saigon was reported in 1947 by Dwight Macdonald
's politics
magazine. "Virtually all of [the] Trotskyist leaders" were murdered by Stalinists, according to Alexander, who wrote, "Although in August 1945 the Vietnamese Trotskyists were an element of substantial importance in the country’s politics, within a few months they had been virtually exterminated—politically and for the most part physically—by the Communist government headed by Ho Chi Minh
. The few Trotskyists escaping this holocaust were forced to flee abroad."
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
was one of the few countries where Trotskyism
Trotskyism
Trotskyism is the theory of Marxism as advocated by Leon Trotsky. Trotsky considered himself an orthodox Marxist and Bolshevik-Leninist, arguing for the establishment of a vanguard party of the working-class...
had a large movement. Its leaders and most of its members were exterminated by the Communist Party of Vietnam
Communist Party of Vietnam
The Communist Party of Vietnam , formally established in 1930, is the governing party of the nation of Vietnam. It is today the only legal political party in that country. Describing itself as Marxist-Leninist, the CPV is the directing component of a broader group of organizations known as the...
beginning in September 1945.
Origins
VietnamVietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
ese Trotskyists were involved in the earliest efforts to build a revolutionary movement in Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
. During the 1930s in Saigon the Vietnamese Trotskyists were a strong rival movement to the Indochinese Communist Party
Indochinese Communist Party
The Indochinese Communist Party was a political party which was transformed from old Vietnamese Communist Party in October 1930...
(ICP), but there was cooperation among the ICP and Trotskyists, perhaps unique in the world, according to Robert J. Alexander. In 1939, after the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Communist organisations were banned in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
. Authorities arrested hundreds of members of the ICP and Trotskyist organizations.
World War Two
In 1945, the ICP emerged as the principal organised political force within the Vietminh national front and led the struggle for power in the 1945 August RevolutionAugust Revolution
On August 19, 1945, the Việt Minh under Hồ Chí Minh began the August General Uprising Tổng Khởi Nghĩa, which was soon renamed the August Revolution . Whether or not this series of events should be called a "revolution" is disputable; what is clear is that, from August 19 onwards, demonstrations and...
. The two Trotskyist parties, La Lutte (French for "Struggle") and the International Communist League
International Communist League (Vietnam)
The International Communist League was a Trotskyist political party in Vietnam. It was founded as the October Group in 1932, by a split in the Indochinese Bolshevik-Leninist Group, which also produced the Struggle Group...
(led by Ho Huu Tuong), regrouped in 1945 and proceeded to rebuild their forces and prepare for the approaching conflict with the British occupation forces and the French colonial forces.
Repression and decline
Ta Thu ThauTa Thu Thau
Tạ Thu Thâu was a Vietnamese Trotskyist and the leader of the Fourth International in Vietnam.-Early life:Ta Thu Thau was born in a small hamlet in Tan Binh, south of Long Xuyen, the capital of An Giang Province in Southern Vietnam. His family were poor and leading a semi-peasant lifestyle...
emerged from prison in poor health but still the most popular leader of the worker's movement in the South and the best known Trotskyist in Vietnam. Returning to Saigon from a consultation with the new Vietminh Government in Hanoi, he was assassinated by Vietminh adherents near Quang Ngai in September 1945.
The methodical assassination of Trotskyists in Saigon was reported in 1947 by Dwight Macdonald
Dwight Macdonald
Dwight Macdonald was an American writer, editor, film critic, social critic, philosopher, and political radical.-Early life and career:...
's politics
Politics (journal)
Politics was a journal founded and edited by Dwight Macdonald from 1944 to 1949.Macdonald had previously been editor at Partisan Review from 1937 to 1943, but after falling out with its publishers, quit to start Politics as a rival publication, first on a monthly basis and then as a...
magazine. "Virtually all of [the] Trotskyist leaders" were murdered by Stalinists, according to Alexander, who wrote, "Although in August 1945 the Vietnamese Trotskyists were an element of substantial importance in the country’s politics, within a few months they had been virtually exterminated—politically and for the most part physically—by the Communist government headed by Ho Chi Minh
Ho Chi Minh
Hồ Chí Minh , born Nguyễn Sinh Cung and also known as Nguyễn Ái Quốc, was a Vietnamese Marxist-Leninist revolutionary leader who was prime minister and president of the Democratic Republic of Vietnam...
. The few Trotskyists escaping this holocaust were forced to flee abroad."